I do think Castro, who was missing against MSU, is a big factor and was greatly missed in that MSU game. His physical toughness and solid tackling is a big factor.
UCLA Will Be Difficult For Iowa To Beat
- Thread starter Iowa Hog
- Start date
That's one question I would like to ask Chuck Long after consuming about 8 beers each. What does he think of the 4 fumble performance? Fluke or something else.
I did get to ask Chuck about that game and he indicated he did not believe it was a fluke. He also mentioned a couple of dropped passes in the game and he said he could not remember Harmon ever dropping one of his passes in a game or practice.
IIRC, Kevin Harmon got yanked after one fumble in a bowl game. Fool me once ...
Iowa wins that game with Castro and Lee in the lineup. Iowa wins that game going away with Sullivan instead of Cade on top of that.
Iowa possibly wins if Cade plays the whole game like he did in the second half, but he's only put a full game together once all season.
59 yards and 2 first downs in the first half. Absolutely brutal first half vs one of the worst defenses in the B1G.
I don’t know. That game has been replayed on the Big Ten network numerous times and if you watch it you will see that on at least two of those fumbles his knee was down and the call would have been overturned in they had video review of the play at that time. As far as the dropped pass in the end zone we see NFL receivers drop passes all the time, it happens frequently.
I agree ... should be a tough out.
I think it's especially an issue because UCLA is so good at defending the run. I just don't think that we have the pass-O to exploit them when they aggressively try to stifle the run.
On top of that ... our bend-but-not-break D has issues when the passing game is being really efficient. If UCLA can avoid turnovers ... then many of the match-ups may actually favor THEM.
The match-ups are:
UCLA's defensive strength vs Iowa's offensive strength
UCLA's offensive strength vs Iowa's defensive weakness (pass D)
Long travel-times have hampered our friends to the west when they have travelled east. The issue can be similar when we travel west. Some of our prior jaunts out west have been quite forgettable.
I agree ... if the pass-game struggles ... then the primary path to victory will likely rely upon turnovers. The margin definitely narrows.
Well, at least Sully's first road start in an Iowa uniform is very likely to be a road game in name only. So that could help some with the passing attack, if it ends up being more heavily relied upon Friday.
Less that and more, "PTSD from previous West Coast trips" combined with, "25 years of Ferentz has taught us to expect things like this."
Well, it is our last chance before bowl selection to prove that we can rush against a top 10 rushing defense. If that is not enough to fire our guys up, idk what is.
Excellent post HMB. Had the same thought the other day, that its possible several of those teams gave up on the run seeing the Bruins issues in pass defense. Also that they are somewhat undisciplined. If they get out of their gaps against our run game, we should be able to gash them....
Indiana Passing attempts 33 rushing attempts 29
LSU 44 and 28
Oregon 42 and 36
Penn State 24 and 30
Minny 37 and 24
Rutgers 30 and 29
Nebby 34 and 38
People have been playing them pretty even in run and pass attempts.
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